Rewari Steam Loco Shed, A Photo Essay

Published March 19, 2012 by Abhimanyu

The morning of March 3, 2012 seven motorcyclists met for breakfast at Manesar. Five proceeded to Rewari Railway Station, 90 kms from New Delhi.

Rewari Steam Locomotive Shed is the only surviving steam loco shed in India housing some of India’s last surviving steam locomotives. Built in 1893, a decade before the Old Delhi Railway Station, it was the only loco shed in North India for a long time and part of the track connecting Delhi with Peshawar, while the metre gauge track built in 1873 from Delhi towards Rewari is India’s oldest.

After steam engines were phased out of Indian Railways in early 1990s, the shed remained in neglect for many years, before it was revived in December 2002 dedicated to the Nation by the Indian Railways, as a Heritage steam locomotive shed. Subsequently, two lines were removed to make way for a broad gauge (BG) line, connecting the shed with the Rewari-Bathinda main section. Next, four BG engines and a 30-tonne steam crane were brought in from the National Rail Museum Delhi, and this was followed by construction of a dual broad gauge and a metre gauge locomotive shed, a machine shop, a wheel pit, a turntable, a tool room and a mini exhibition hall. Besides the metre gauge steam engines, five broad gauge steam engines have been restored and are being maintained for heritage service. Now, the shed houses 09 steam engines.